The Star of the Day; Trolleys; The Corkscrew

Sara over at La Gringuita Diaries is the star of the day. She was living in Minnesota and is now living in and blogging from Chile, our honored country for Memphis in May. She was kind enough to send me a few links to some other interesting blogs from Chile. In her blog post today she lamented about the sad state of fruit of late but also mentioned our beloved MIM festival. Do drop by her blog and some of the others and say "Hi, from Memphis" or from wherever you are!

Back in Memphis, I have in recent months given our trolley system a C- overall as the claim of "runs every 12 minutes Mon. - Fri. 6am - 6pm" can be more than a few minutes off. This week I find myself relying on the trolley as my car is in the shop. I have to say that their performance yesterday and today earned them a solid A. Perhaps I've been too harsh on the cute little trolleys and afterall what would I have done without them?

On another important note, it is Tuesday and that means it's Ladies Day at the Corkscrew when all wine in 10% off. People must think I'm some kind of lush but that's not true, I just like mentioning this on Tuesdays.

Getting into Memphis in May: Blogs from Chile

map from: gosouthamerica.about.com/.../l/blcitiesmap.htm

As Memphians know by now the 2009 Memphis in May honored country is Chile. I have added a couple of blogs from Chile to my sidebar if you're interested in getting an idea of what Chile is like day to day for people who live there. One of the bloggers emailed me to let me know she may send me a few links to some fellow bloggers in Chile for me to add, so you might see that list grow.

University of Rock at the Memphis Rock 'n' soul Museum

I've started to hear parents talk about lining up activities for their kids this summer. Summer camps abound but one that caught my attention is the University of Rock at the Rock 'n' Soul Museum for students entering 7th or 8th grade. There are two different two week sessions in July. Students in groups will work not only on a sound and stage presence but also on all the marketing aspects for their hypothetical band. Click here for all the details: http://www.memphisrocknsoul.org/Acrobat/University%20of%20Rock.pdf

It all reminded me of the movie "School of Rock" with Jack Black. This will make you laugh:

A Blimp Floats Over Downtown on a Sunny Sunday and The Beach

On my way to Bluff City Coffee I caught sight of a blimp floating around in the blue sky above downtown. I say a blimp because it didn't say "Goodyear" anywhere on it that I saw, so I guess this is the "Direct TV" blimp. But that just doesn't sound right. Anyway, we are having a cooler but beautifully sunny Sunday.


Later this week I will be at the beach for a few days. My schedule will look something like this (assuming the weather will cooperate):
Wake Up
Go Back to Sleep
Wake Up (for real)
Take a beach bag full of beach necessities to the beach
Do beachy things
Go to dinner, preferably somewhere on the beach
Have a cocktail or two, preferably somewhere on the beach
Go back to friend's house
Go to sleep

I have no Plan B schedule for rainy days. I'll work that out if it happens, but surely not!
It's been three years since I've been to a beach. I've had numerous opportunities but each time I decided not to go for various reasons, though I would have liked to. So, I'm really looking forward to this.

Earth Hour

For one hour the Colosseum in Rome, the Bird's Nest stadium in China, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and many other of the world's landmarks will go dark. Earth Hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, begins tonight at 8:30 p.m. Thousands of cities around the world have turned their lights out for one hour, 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. local time rolling through the world's time zones starting with Sydney, Austrailia. The event is a symbolic one signaling a commitment to address global warming. The event began in 2007 in Sydney. In the U.S., key cities are Nashville, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, D.C., Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And there is a long list of participating cities in the U.S. Visit the WWF website to read about Earth Hour and see the global and U.S. maps of key cities and participating cities:http://www.earthhourus.org/map.php

Memphis is not officially participating. A local environmentalist asked the city to participate by turning off the lights on the Hernando Desoto bridge for Earth Hour but a spokesperson for the Mayor's office said it would present safety issues.

On a Retail Roll: Rivertown Gallery

Since I've been droning on about retail recently I will continue the shopping theme by mentioning Rivertown Gallery at 125 S. Main. What had happened was this: I was out running this afternoon and that time frame was what made this run a protracted one. I usually run in the morning before anything is open which enables me to run my 3 miles without distraction, get back home and start the day. Today however, on my "late" run just past noon, I was in the home stretch of my route with only three blocks left to run when I spotted a great looking necklace and pendant in the Rivertown Gallery window. Reader: make the brake screeching noise here. The Nikes seemingly stopped on their own and I stumbled into the place sweaty and without any method of payment on my person. A small matter I was sure I could work around should I find a purchase. Indeed, I found more than one purchase and explained I just lived down the street and would return tout de suite with some form of payment. It turns out that the very cool necklace and pendant served only to draw me in but what I bought, pictured above, is a fun little ring made with a Swarovski crystal that sparkles with every color in the rainbow depending on the light, an item for my friend Mary's belated birthday, and another item that the nice lady in the gallery is making to match the item I bought Mary. The gallery is full of original art including paintings, sculpture, pottery, jewelry and various other items. Visit their website at http://www.rivertowngallery.net

More Retail to Come in South Main

The Memphis Business Journal reported today on a couple of new businesses opening soon in South Main. South of Beale restaurant plans on opening in June and will be located at 361 S. Main. And an art gallery called Art Under a Hot Tin Roof plans to open at 117 S. Main which is on South Main but not in "South Main" proper I would say. This is the space next to Circa I believe. Just yesterday I heard again that they will be selling jewelry as well as art. I have no idea and the article does not say but we'll know soon enough.
The article cites the CCC's forgivable loan program as the key for attracting new retailers to set up shop downtown. See the MBJ for the entire article.

Downtown Makeover and Car Spikes

Do you know someone who needs a makeover in the worst way? I'm talking about a complete overhaul: hair, makeup, clothes, accessories and fitness? Help is on the way and it's free! Register to win a total makeover sponsored by the Center City Commission. The downtown merchants providing all the services and merchandise are Muse, Delphinium, Runway Boutique, Strut, Lansky 126, Rachel's Salon and Energy Fitness. The makeover process will be featured on Lee Warren's tv show "Definitely Downtown" on May 29th. The application and all details are at :
http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/news/html/downtown_makeover.html


How about giving a very old car a makeover? I know this is hard to see but this old VW has been parking in a lot near my place for a week or so. It's got iron cross stickers slapped on it here and there and the hood is decorated with a straight line of evenly spaced spikes right down the center. It practically shouts "Ich bin Deutsch!" at you. Menacing yet cute at the same time. Take a theme and run with it.

Views of Downtown Memphis at Sunset Today

Beignets Set to Open, SEE the Difference Interiors' New Location and What's Happening Downtown This Weekend

Beignets on G. E. Patterson across from Calhoun's is opening April 6th. I stumbled in this afternoon and Aaron and Vanna (I'm sorry if I misspelled either name) who I spoke to there were nice enough to let me come in and I can say the place looks lush, lush, lush. The decor has a very New Orleans-antique look and feel. I love it. They also have a patio area which I can imagine taking advantage of this spring and on into the fall. They plan on serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Best of luck to you guys.

SEE the Difference home interiors moved from 6 West G.E. Patterson (in City House) to 431 S. Main just across from the fire station. Previously the ultra-modern office furniture store had been there. www.seethedifferenceinteriors.com

The Center City Commission has posted details for this weekend's upcoming events and happenings: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/news/html/thisweek.html

Some highlights:

Friday evening - South Main Trolley Tour

Friday - Sunday Men's NCAA Basketball South Regional games at FedEx Forum.

The Zodiac Ball at the Peabody is this Saturday night and it benefits the American Cancer Society.

Club Chill at Peabody Place and Second is open and hosting DJ Taz this Saturday night. Midnight to 3am.

Sunday Suppers at Majestic Grille - this Sunday night 7pm, movie: "It Happened One Night"

Redbirds Free Lunch, Downtown Alive, MemphisConnect Blog

The Redbirds are having a fan appreciation FREE lunch today from 11:30 - 1pm at Autozone Park. They will be serving hotdogs, nachos and cokes. They have a couple of exhibition games against the St. Louis Cardinals the first weekend in April and their regular season starts April 9th with a home game against Oklahoma. www.memphisredbirds.com

Also kicking off April 9th is the Center City Commission's Downtown Alive series of free lunch time events and entertainment on Main Street. Visit http://www.downtownmemphis.com/downtownalive/ to see the schedule.

The Leadership Academy launched it's blog, MemphisConnect, last night at the FedEx Institute of Technology. Check it out here: http://www.memphisconnect.com/

The Corkscrew and Kenneth Cole?

It's Tuesday at the Corkscrew....

I walk past this building nearly everyday and have never noticed its namesake, Kenneth Cole. If only!

I would love to walk in the Kenneth Cole building and see this...

Or this...

See http://www.kennethcole.com/ for this Kenneth Cole.

But I'm afraid that all you see in the Memphis Light Gas & Water Kenneth O. Cole building is a bank of cashier windows and people standing in line to pay bills. Kenneth O. Cole, if you're curious, was at one time the Vice President of Public Relations and Procurement for MLGW.

Some Ideas for Mud Island River Park

There was a large turnout last night for RDC's first public meeting at the river park to gather ideas from the community on the land use study. Some ideas that were tossed around included:

• a skate park
• a charter river school
• a dog park
• shops
• a youth hostel
• a small hotel
• access to the river on different levels
• more trees/landscaping/greenspace
• upgrade existing features
• *name change* (yes, please)

There were many other ideas and there are a few more initial meetings coming up to continue gathering input. There is also an online survey you can take to give your suggestions (see end of post for the link).

Remaining Round One Public Meetings
(All meetings 5:45-7:15 pm)

North Memphis Raleigh United Methodist Church, 3295 Powers Road, Tuesday, 3/24
South Memphis Whitehaven Community Center Gymnasium, 4318 Graceland Drive, Tuesday, 3/31
East Memphis Memphis Botanic Gardens, 750 Cherry Road, Thursday, 4/2
Sign up for the RDC e-newsletter to follow the study »
Take the online survey »

New Businesses, Another Closing and Mud Island River Park Public Meeting Tonight

Amidst all of the retail closings downtown I'm happy to tell you about a few new openings on the horizon. It looks like Smith & Routt drycleaners are planning on opening a location in the spot pictured above at 53 Monroe where Curves had been. I'll be happy to see that awning go away, which caused somewhat of a low-grade depression each time I glanced over there at it's peeling ugliness.


I also heard that a jewelry store will be opening in this spot next to Circa at Main and Gayoso. A Regions bank branch had occupied this space previously.

Unfortunatley, Mode du Jour www.modesomain.com on South Main will be closing at the end of the month last I heard. On the upside for the area is that Midtown Bike recently opened at 509 S. Main and the new restaurant Beignets (Across from Calhoun's on G.E. Patterson) looks like it's close to opening as well.

Also, remember that tonight is the first Mud Island River Park Land Use public meeting. It's at Mud Island River Park, 101 Island Drive from 5:45 pm - 7:15 pm. The gate attendant will give directions. http://www.memphisriverfront.com/projects/mud-island-land-use-study

Sports Sunday

I have delayed posting because today was a perfect day outside and I took full advantage of the R-e-a-l-l-y G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s weather. I started out at Majestic for brunch where I languished longer than the wait staff would have liked in the sun on the patio with the paper, my entree and several cups of coffee. I have no idea why I didn't order a Bloody Mary which would have been the right thing to do.

Last night, I ended up at the Grizzlies-Celtics game. The group I was with was comfortably ensconced in the club level and as I had never been there before I was duly impressed. It was nice seeing all the David Lynch art and having such cush seats for the game. It would have been perfect had the Grizzlies won, but no matter, we are Young and Hungry nonetheless. But, how 'bout them Tigers? On their way to the Sweet Sixteen!

Deals in South Main and Shopping for Hair Pins

Through March if you make a purchase at Delphinium on G.E. Patterson, bring your receipt to Harry's across the street for a 20% discount on a lunch or dinner entree or buy one get one free draft beer at Calhoun's down the street. I bought a gift for a friend's birthday at Delphinium and decided to have lunch at Harry's. I love the cozy and relaxed atmosphere there and the food has always been great. On the flip side if you bring your receipt from either Harry's or Calhoun's to Delphinium you can get 10% off (some exclusions). Receipts must equal at least $15 and cannot be more than 7 days old. Visit Delphinium's website: http://www.delphiniumboutique.com/

Recently, I was shopping for pretty, long bobby pin type hair pins. The selection I found at shops around town was limited to small pins for fine or thin hair or little girl type pins. I found some online, which was also like looking for a bobby pin in a haystack, at a site called www.eCrater.com. The seller's store address is http://kittenkat22.ecrater.com/

The pins I found were long (2 inches) and hold thick hair in place all day and are very pretty. They were shipped in a cute little box and the seller sent along a small pair of freshwater pearl earrings just for making a purchase.

Your Two Cents About Mud Island River Park

The Riverfront Development Corporation and the City of Memphis have lined up a series of public meetings to take place over nine months to get our input on the Mud Island River Park land use study. The first meeting is this Monday, March 23 at 5:45 pm at the park. There is an online survey you can take which is primarily answering questions by choosing options that have been provided. But there is a "What would you like to see happen" or some such phrased question where you can give your opinions and suggestions. Here are a couple of my thoughts:

1. Please change the name "Mud Island".
2. Make the part of the island on the north end (just north of the bridge) a dog park. Selfish of me, I know.

Other than that, I have not thought too much about uses for the park. At the first public meeting on Monday, architects Looney Ricks Kiss will present ideas and photos of riverfronts from around the world to help get people thinking about some possibilities and desired and needed uses.

Read more about the meetings, see the meeting calendar and take the online survey at:
http://www.memphisriverfront.com/projects/mud-island-land-use-study

A Few Photos for Thursday

Work progresses on the mural created by artist Jeff Zimmermann, www.jazim.com on a building overlooking Autozone Park.

Sometimes we can relate to the red tulip...

I think of Europe for a split second every time I drive down this downtown alley.

Fun Food Fast: Eggrolls and What's Happening Downtown This Weekend

Yesterday's farmers market/nutrition post put me in the mood for another food post. I live very close to where I work so I go home around noon to walk Poppy and make lunch. I love eggrolls and making them is easy and fast, two characteristics that make these good to whip up whenever. I made the filling last night for these, so total time to assemble these and cook them today was 8 minutes. The filling I made was chopped napa cabbage, diced cooked chicken breast, chopped onion, matchstick carrots, peas, soy sauce and pepper - I just stir fried all this together. You can use just about any kind of meat and/or vegetables you like. You need to have some eggroll wrappers and 1 egg white with a drop or two of water stirred in it.


Place the filling near one corner of the eggroll wrapper (eggroll wrappers are usually found in the produce section of the grocery store)

Roll the filled corner towards the center once, tightly, then fold the corners on the left and right in towards the center

Continue to roll until you make it to the last corner, seal the eggroll shut by dabbing a bit of egg white onto the inside edge of the corner and pressing it gently to the roll.

Brush the eggroll with egg white and fry in canola oil in a saute pan on high heat until all sides are golden brown. This happens fast so watch them and turn them a lot.

It's Thursday and the Center City Commission has posted its list of events and happenings downtown this weekend. Visit their site at: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/news/html/thisweek.html

Some Fri/Sat/Sun ideas:

Friday: Salsa music with Caribbean Sound at the Rumba Room, 10pm

Saturday: The Grizzlies play the Celtics at FedEx Forum, 7 pm

Sunday: Lil' Wayne concert at FedEx Forum, 7 pm

Memphis Farmers Market and Good Food

The Memphis Farmers Market opens a month from this Saturday on April 18th. That seems so very far away and I have truly missed shopping there on Saturday mornings. Ok, I don't shop there every Saturday during their season, but I do go by most Saturdays and I like to know I could go if I wanted to. Their website says that their cookbook will be published soon and they also mention that March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign created by the National Dietetic Association. The NDA website has a lot of good information about nutrition. You can read reviews of popular diets, find out what is considered to be moderate alcohol consumption, read facts about sucralose, fructose and aspartame and find out what makes almonds, mushrooms and barley so great for you. Click here to see a list of the National Dietetic Association's nutrition fact sheets: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/nutrition_350_ENU_HTML.htm

Also, the Farmers Market website posts a handy Tennessee Harvest Calendar so you can see what's in season each month:
http://www.memphisfarmersmarket.com/thisweek.htm

The Old Door

I liked the way this old, battered door looked leaning up against a wall in a narrow alley off Front Street. The faint glow of dusk and the streetlights which had just come on, bathed it in an unusual light.

Photos of the Morning Fog Downtown

Happy St. Patrick's Day, The Redbirds, Art and the Corkscrew

Happy St. Patrick's Day. And what a foggy top 'o the morning we had today but it's clearing off and looks to be turning into a fine, sunny day. If you're in the mood for Irish fare for lunch or dinner try the Majestic Grille. Their lunch specials are Fish 'n Chips, Beef and Mushroom Pie or a Limerick Ham Sandwich. Dinner specials are Filet Mignon (with a whisky sauce), Grilled Lamb Chops or Crab Stuffed Trout.

Capriccio in the Peabody is also serving a 3-course Irish dinner tonight.

If you're looking for a spot to drink a pint of Guinness, there is no shortage of options downtown. Bardog, Calhoun's or the Flying Saucer would be on the short list. A bit further afield you may try Celtic Crossing on Cooper in Midtown. They will have bagpipers, Irish dancers, green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and several bands. $10 cover.


Staying in tonight? How about whipping up dinner with Guinness? There are a few great sounding Irish recipes that use Guinness as an ingredient at Epicurean.com: http://recipes.epicurean.com/guinness.jsp.




"A Day at AutoZone Park" by Memphis artist David Lynch


The Redbirds season starts very soon which ushers in the return of baseball and springtime once again. The vibrant and fun artwork of David Lynch above will be featured on the cover of the Redbirds 2009 Yearbook.
click here for the Redbirds schedule: http://memphis.redbirds.milb.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t235

It's Tuesday and it happens to be St. Patrick's Day when the beverage of choice generally is not wine. But it's Ladies Day at the Corkscrew which means 10% off wine. However, they also have lots of fine beers you can mix and match.

Gestures is Moving and So You Think You Can Stand in a Really Long Line

Auditions for the tv dance/reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" were being held in Memphis this morning downtown at the Cadre Building at Second and Monroe. People were lined up down Second and wrapped around the corner all the way down Union to Fourth. That's a long, long line for those of you not familiar with the area. I don't watch the show myself but clearly lots of people do. Good luck to all those patient dancers.

I hate to say this but Gestures is moving from South Main to Laurelwood Place at 418 S. Perkins Ext'd. That's the Middle East according to my Memphis Map. They will be missed downtown as they were a huge presence in the South Main area. The good news is they are still around and growing.

Congratulations Tigers, Projects Moving Right Along and a Random Photo

Yesterday afternoon I could hear happy Tigers fans cheering on the street for their win over Tulsa that clenched the C-USA Championship. Congratulations Tigers! Early this morning I could hear a quite different sound of hammers echoing off the buildings downtown. Within two blocks of me there are several projects underway, this is not to mention the many others scattered around downtown. Work is proceeding on several projects even on a Sunday morning to keep them on schedule. Above is the Barboro Alley Flats site (apartments, commercial and parking garage) at Barbaro and Main. Below you can see men on scaffolding at the Lawrence Building Project (apartments and commercial) on Main.




These next two photos are of the Courtyard by Marriott being constructed at Jefferson and Main.

And finally a shot of Court Annex 2 at Court Square Center. This will be an all glass and steel modern mixed-use building replacing an old building that burned down in 2006.

Random downtown photo: Artfully mismatched chairs in Automatic Slims

Question and Words of Encouragement

The question I have comes from my parking garage. Is a small SUV now considered to be a small car? Notice the Small Cars Only sign in this space. I'm not saying this is not a small car, I'm asking you if the definition of "small" has changed?

I saw these words of encouragement on a bumper sticker today while out and about: Just Keep Swimming!